Bulletin: Nov. 16, 2017

These reports are from the previous three issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated.

CAR TAKES

DIVE AT

HAMILTON PARK

Tracks left by what is believed to be a car were discovered early Saturday morning at Hamilton Park in south Colfax. Tracks show the car entered the park on the south side and crossed the park diagonally.

Police Chief Rick McNannay said the evidence indicates the driver exited the park by going off the retaining wall at the northeast corner of the park. The car landed on Alley Street.

McNannay said the tracks indicate the driver applied the brakes just before going over the retaining wall. The car left scrape marks on the top of the wall.

Debris left at the scene where the car landed indicates the vehicle was a Toyota Camry in the 2015 to 2017 model year range.

The retaining wall along the northeast corner of the park dates back to when Hamilton School was located on the site. The property is still owned by the school district. Height of the wall was 33 inches where one wheel went off and 31 inches where the other wheel cleared.

The chief said the relative newness of the car and the extent of damage it must have sustained leads him to believe the car will show up at a body repair shop. He urges anyone who might have information on the case to contact the police department.

HITS MOOSE

ON 27

Hope C. Humphries, Lakewood, Colo., was injured Monday when the car she was driving collided with a moose on Highway 27 about six miles south of Oakesdale.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving a 2011 Subaru Impreza northbound at 5:52 p.m. when the moose came onto the highway and was struck by the front of the Impreza.

She was transported by the Garfield/Farmington EMS ambulance to Whitman Hospital in Colfax for treatment of cuts and bruises.

ACCIDENT ON HIGHWAY 23

Connor Pelissier, Colfax, was unhurt early Saturday morning in an accident on Highway 23 six miles north of St. John. According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving a 1999 Ford Ranger southbound in foggy conditions at 5:45 a.m. when the pickup drifted across the northbound lane and went down the embankment and stopped in the ditch.

BOOKED FOR FAILING TO

REGISTER

Dustin Birch, 44, Garfield, was booked into jail Nov. 9 on a probable charge of failing to register as a sex offender. According to the arrest report, Birch called the sheriff 's office Sept. 7 to report he was moving out of a residence in Garfield. He subsequently failed to advise the sheriff's office of his new address.

Birch reported to deputies he resided in a tent along the Snake River and then for a short time at Elk River and Lewiston in Idaho. He said he was going to return to Garfield, but allegedly didn't show up.

Birch came to the sheriff's office Nov. 9 to do some paperwork and was booked for failing to register. He has convictions for sexual offenses in 1992 and 2007, according to the report.

A $10,000 bail was set at a first appearance in court Monday.

CAR WINDOW BROKEN ON MAIN STREET

Colfax Police responded to a report Friday morning of a back window broken out of a car parked along the S. 100 block of Main Street. The owner of the car, a 1998 Mazda MPV, resides in an apartment on the same block. Police did not find a rock or other projectile inside the vehicle.

People with any information on when the car was hit are asked to contact the police office. The broken window was discovered at about 11 a.m., and the window bashing is believed to have happened some time during the night.

TRIAL SET

FOR ROSALIA

CHASE CASE

A Jan. 16 trial was set for Michael Canedy, 26, Malden, on a charge of attempting to elude an officer. He pleaded not guilty to the charge Nov. 3. He was arrested Oct. 29 after allegedly leading a car chase around the west side of Rosalia.

The charge against Canedy includes a special allegation that he put others at risk during the chase, which allegedly included driving at a high rate of speed. The passengers, Cameron Hunter and a 15-year-old girl, were riding in the car. According to the arrest report, Hunter told Canedy to pull the car over and stop when they were driving on 5th Street.

The report alleges Canedy turned off the lights of his car when deputies turned on their pursuit lights. He drove across parking lots, a weigh scale and city streets. The report said at one point he was traveling at 80 mph.

His car reportedly went airborne when he crossed the railroad tracks on that side of town. The pursuit also went down Whitman Street through the Rosalia business district before the suspect pulled onto 5th Street and stopped.

FIRE DESTROYS HOUSE IN

STEPTOE

An older two story house in Steptoe was destroyed by fire early Friday morning. The house, which is located on Water Street, burned quickly because of its older box design. One woman was in the house when the fire started, and she was able to escape.

A Colfax crew responded to the fire reports at 2:36 a.m. Saturday.

Four children also resided at the house, but they were not at home when the fire was discovered. The family is now staying at a formerly unoccupied house in Colfax.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for them at http://www.gofundme.com/house-fire-wicks-family. You can also give to the Catalyst Church online. Indicate Wicks on your donation and it will go directly to them. Or call 397-6629.

Colfax TO GET SPLIT AUDIT REPORT

Colfax Finance Director Chris Mathis told the city council Nov. 6 the city will get a split report after a state audit of the city's books over the three-year span of 2014, 2015 and 2016. She expects the city will get a "no opinion" report on the city's financial condition for the first two years of the audit, 2014 and 2015. During those years the city went through a change of financial directors after Mark Clinton departed to start his first term as county treasurer. For a short time the city operated without a financial director after the first person hired for the job left.

Mathis, who has been credited with getting the city's books back in order since she joined the staff, reported the city's books and procedures were determined by the state auditors to be back on track for 2016, and the audit for that year will be separated from the two "no opinion" years.

A separate state audit report for the city's 2016 records will allow the city to operate with its latest financial status on the record and not be impeded by a "no opinion" ruling related to the 2014-15 records.

From Oct. 12 to Oct. 27, the state audit team reviewed records and are close to concluding their review and issuing the reports.